Arts Groups Lament Sale of Theatre to Church

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Porfiry

Who said they'd make a go of it? I doubt they'll survive even with a tax break. I think the church is in over their heads and will be insolvent in 10 years at most.

But seriously, I don't understand the logic of your argument. You complain that churches pay no tax, but propose spending taxpayer money as the alternative. Guess what, the city isn't going to pay tax on its own property either, plus the taxpayer would be out of pocket at least $9 million. Your alternative is far worse from the taxpayer's perspective.

You either ignored or misunderstood the fact the city has $23 million set aside for what was originally supposed to be an 1,800-1,950 seat concert hall. http://concerthallcomplex.org/?page_id=2

This is the money the Bing Thom proposal for the Art Gallery concert hall is trying to access. However, The Centre has 1,800 seats and superb acoustics so why reinvent the wheel? Plus, isn't the VAG at Larwill Park proposal supposed to stimulate a cultural precinct? Why remove the theatre from that mix for a church?